Q.(a) Explain the importance of the United Nations in the present day world with the help of any three arguments.
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UN Reform Challenges — A First Look
Imagine a club founded in 1945, with rules written right after a world war. The world has changed completely since then — new countries, new problems, new powers — but the club's rules are almost the same. That is the United Nations today. Reform means changing those rules so the UN can actually handle 21st-century problems. The challenges are the reasons why that change is so hard.
The core problem: a 1945 structure in a 2025 world
The UN was built when there were 51 member states. Today there are 193. The biggest decisions — peace and security — are made by the Security Council, which has five permanent members (the P5: US, UK, France, Russia, China). Each of them can veto any resolution. That made sense in 1945, when those five were the major Allied powers. Now it means that a single country can block action on genocide, climate disasters, or pandemics.
The veto is not just a symbol. Since 1945, the P5 have used the veto hundreds of times — often to protect themselves or their allies from UN action.
The three big reform challenges
1. Security Council composition
The Council has 15 seats: 5 permanent, 10 non-permanent (elected for two-year terms). Africa has 54 countries but zero permanent seats. Latin America has zero. India, the world's most populous country, has zero. Japan and Germany, the third and fourth largest economies, have zero. Every proposal to expand the Council — adding new permanent members, or more elected seats — gets blocked because the P5 do not want to dilute their power, and regional rivals cannot agree on who should get a seat.
2. The veto problem
Even if the Council were expanded, the veto remains. A single permanent member can kill any resolution, even if the other 14 members support it. Reform proposals include:
- Requiring two permanent members to veto together (instead of one)
- Banning the veto on issues like genocide or mass atrocities
- Simply abolishing it
None of these has passed because the P5 must approve any change to the UN Charter — and they will not vote to weaken their own power.
A common mistake is to think the UN General Assembly can overrule a Security Council veto. It cannot. The General Assembly can only recommend; the Security Council has the legal authority to act.
3. Funding and representation mismatch
The UN budget comes from member contributions. The US pays about 22%, China about 15%, Japan about 8%. But their voting power in the General Assembly is the same as Tuvalu (population 11,000) or Bhutan. Every country gets one vote. So countries that pay very little can block initiatives that major funders want. Meanwhile, the UN is chronically underfunded for its mandates — peacekeeping, humanitarian aid, climate action — because member states do not pay on time or in full. …
- Part (a): The UN remains vital as a universal forum for diplomacy, a coordinator of collective action on global crises, and the guardian of international law and human-rights norms.
- Part (b): The Security Council has 5 veto-wielding permanent members and 10 elected non-permanent members, and holds primary, binding responsibility for maintaining international peace and security.
The United Nations was born in 1945 from the ashes of the Second World War with the mission of saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war. Its importance in the present day has not diminished but transformed, because the world is now shaped as much by climate change, pandemics, terrorism and inequality as by interstate conflict.
First, the UN serves as the world's only universal platform for diplomacy and conflict resolution. When tensions rise, the Security Council provides a formal arena for debate, mediation and, where necessary, the authorisation of peacekeeping operations, while the General Assembly and the Secretary-General act as moral voices and mediators. Peacekeeping forces, from Cyprus to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, have helped prevent local conflicts from widening into larger wars.
Second, the UN coordinates collective action on challenges that cross borders. The World Health Organization leads responses to pandemics, the UNHCR protects displaced people, the UNDP works against poverty, and the IPCC and annual COP conferences keep climate change at the top of the global agenda. These specialised agencies are the operational arms of international cooperation.
Third, the UN is the backbone of modern international law and human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) remains the most-cited statement of human dignity, and bodies such as the International Court of Justice provide accountability that did not exist before 1945. Its value lies not in being a world government but in its power to convene, to legitimise and to set standards.
Concept understanding — United Nations Structure
The United Nations Structure: A First Look
Imagine a village with many families. Some families are big, some small. Some have disputes over land, others share a well. To keep the village peaceful and help everyone thrive, the villagers create a village council — a place where representatives from each family can meet, discuss problems, and make decisions together.
The United Nations (UN) is exactly that, but for the entire world. It was founded in 1945 after two devastating world wars, with one core mission: to prevent another global war and promote peace, cooperation, and human dignity.
But how does an organisation of 193 countries actually work? It can't just be one big meeting — that would be chaos. So the UN is built like a tree with several branches, each with a specific job. These branches together form the UN Structure.
The Six Main Organs (The Branches)
The UN Charter (its founding rulebook) established six principal organs. Think of them as the six essential departments of the world's largest organisation.
1. The General Assembly (GA) — The Town Hall
This is where every member nation gets one vote. It's the most democratic part of the UN. They meet every year from September to December (and as needed) to discuss anything — climate change, poverty, conflicts, human rights.
The GA can pass resolutions (recommendations), but they are not legally binding on member states. It's like a village meeting passing a suggestion — powerful morally, but not a law.
Key job: Approve the UN budget, elect non-permanent members of the Security Council, and appoint the Secretary-General (on recommendation of the Security Council).
2. The Security Council (UNSC) — The Emergency Response Team
This is the most powerful organ. It has 15 members:
- 5 permanent members (P5): USA, UK, France, Russia, China. Each has a veto power — they can block any resolution, even if all 14 others agree.
- 10 non-permanent members: Elected by the GA for 2-year terms.
The veto power is controversial. It means one permanent member can stop the UN from taking action, even in a genocide or invasion. This is a major criticism of the UN's effectiveness.
Key job: Maintain international peace and security. It can impose sanctions, authorise military action, or send peacekeeping forces. Its resolutions are legally binding on all UN members.
3. The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) — The Development Engine
This organ coordinates the economic, social, and related work of the UN and its specialised agencies. It has 54 members elected by the GA for 3-year terms.
Key job: Fight poverty, improve health, promote education, protect the environment. It oversees bodies like the World Health Organization (WHO), UNESCO (education/culture), and UNICEF (children).
4. The Trusteeship Council — The (Now Dormant) Guardian
Originally set up to oversee trust territories (colonies transitioning to self-government). By 1994, the last trust territory (Palau) became independent. The Council now exists on paper but is inactive.
5. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) — The World Court
Located in The Hague, Netherlands. It has 15 judges elected by the GA and Security Council for 9-year terms. It settles legal disputes between countries (not individuals).
Only states can bring cases to the ICJ. It cannot prosecute individuals — that's the job of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is a separate treaty-based body, not a UN organ.
Key job: Rule on disputes like border conflicts, treaty violations, or maritime rights. Its judgments are binding, but it has no army to enforce them.
6. The Secretariat — The Bureaucracy
This is the administrative backbone — the thousands of civil servants who run the UN day-to-day. Headed by the Secretary-General (currently António Guterres), who is the chief administrative officer. …
- Part (a): The UN remains vital as a universal forum for diplomacy, a coordinator of collective action on global crises, and the guardian of international law and human-rights norms.
- Part (b): The Security Council has 5 veto-wielding permanent members and 10 elected non-permanent members, and holds primary, binding responsibility for maintaining international peace and security.
Part (b) …
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